I've been a fan of wicked photoreal print items since forever really, but apart from my atom bomb top I never acquired any photorealistic printed items. This gorgeous baboon dress was a welcome addition to my wardrobe! I don't just love the print, I also love the fit and how comfortable the fabric is, WINNER.

The baboon dress was a gift from Chictopia, who offered to let me pick out some stuff from their Chictopia shop in return for a review. I used to be a very frequent Chictopia blogger a few years ago before really kickstarting this blog into action. Chictopia was basically a social networking site for fashionbloggers back then, but it has come a long way since. I especially like their shop: it allows you to search for a certain garment in the style gallery (offering you inspiration on how to wear certain items) and immediately click through to the shop where you can buy similar items from a wide range of international sellers. COOL, right? The Chictopia shop has sellers ranging from vintage to indie designers to regular high street brands, so anyone is bound to find something to their liking.

My personal experience with shopping at Chictopia has been 50/50 by now. This baboon dress arrived right on time, with great shipping info from the seller. The second item I ordered however hasn't arrived yet, while I paid for it over a month ago. After messaging the seller (sheinside.com btw) about where my item was, they told me the item had gone out of stock. The seller had since ordered a new batch, but it would take more time for the item to reach me. When I demanded a faster shipping option (paid by them, of course) they did comply straight away. They also offered to refund the money, but I opted to wait a bit longer. Oh well, I'll let you know when the garment arrives? I guess one can suspect stories like these when ordering from Chinese stores such as Sheinside, but I've had nothing but rather good experiences before so I was still taken aback by it a bit.

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I hope your Easter was lovely! I think Easter is a pretty random holiday, what with Jesus and bunnies and chocolate eggs and all, but it comes with a Monday home from work so I ain't complainin'.

Ah, I love this dress. Love love love it. I have had it in my faves list on ASOS for AGES, like, literally half a year, and then it got discounted 50% for some reason and I POUNCED on that shit like a rabid dog pounces on, uhm, a cat or something? You know what I mean. Anyway, I love how this dress is comfortable and casual and elegant at the same time, depending on how you'd style it. I went with a vintage-chique look, but the dress would look just as cute with sandals for a stroll in the park, pumps + jewelry and a clutch for a party or converse + a tote bag and a denim jacket to hang out with girlfriends.

And to top that, I will wear this dress forever: its basic shape won't go out of style, would look just as nice on a 20 something as on a 40 year old AND offers space for me to gain weight when I inevitably lose my battle with cheese one day (which admittedly isn't much of a battle, since I hardly put up a fight). DON'T YOU SEE IT THIS IS BASICALLY THE ONLY DRESS I'LL EVER NEED. Let's hope it stays pretty, because jersey is known to lose its shape after a few wears/washes.

Hiya! You might remember the Boudoir By Mail giveaway I hosted a while back. Well, I received my own sample in the mail last week. A pretty package with a bright red ribbon tied around it, exactly the kind of surprise you don't mind getting home to after a long day at work. Let's go find out what kind of knickers were gifted to me, and how I rate them!

Oooooh, snazzy package and pretty suspender shorts! ME LIKEY

As you can see, the suspenders are removable and the black fabric is seethrough, while the front panel is lined with nude colored fabric. Chic, with a peekaboo back! The fabrics are OK, but not massively better than what you'd get at H&M for example. Oh, and I dislike the tight elastic around the bikini line, they always give me massive ingrowage. You know, hairwise. (lol that was such a random way of saying tight briefs give me ingrown hairs)

Ooooooh, shmexay. but still quite cute, non? Didn't show you the back, because I didn't feel like photographing my buttcrack. I have standards, you know.

Outfit time! Something comfortable and casual I wore for some shopping with my sister. I tried to go with soft colors to feel the slightest hint of spring, while still keeping the outfit warm since it was actually snowing that day. And that is ALL I'm going to say about the dreadful weather, I'm OVER talking about it. I do really love the oatmeal esque color of these tights, works very well with the pale denim and peach sweater.

The boyfriend shorts were inspired by Paulien, who wore some when we got together for some outfit-shooting a few weeks ago. Mine aren't quite as boyfriend-slouchy as hers, but I do really love the way these fit me. And I'll probably drop by Think Twice when they're having their monthly sales again to score an even wider pair of denim to convert into boyfriend shorts. I can't really justify spending more than a few euros on denim shorts these days, since I can't even wear them 5 days out of 7 (not exactly work-appropriate, sadly).

Hiya! Today I'll be reviewing my pair of Wrangler Denim Spa Smooth Legs skinnies (what a mouthful, right? :-D), kindly sent over by PR-agency Marnix&Ally. I must admit I had a bit of a "wtf" moment when I heard about the Denim Spa collection. Denim that will soothe sensitive skin, moisturize your legs or make your cellulite evaporate? Not something I'd ever have imagined myself. But obviously, my curiosity was peaked.

Now, I received the Smooth Legs pair that supposedly fights cellulite with its caffeine, retinol, and algae extract infusion. I don't really have a lot of cellulite, just the slight dimpling you get when squeezing the flesh on your butt together with your hands, you know (yeay I'm so good at explaining thingz)? So I might not be the best person to review the workings of Smooth Legs. Apparently, you'd have to wear these jeans for about 6 weeks, 8 hours a day, 5 days a week and maintain its anti-cellulite function by using the reload spray - bought separately - to really notice an effect. This sounds like a lot of work, but a clinical study quoted by the Telegraph does say 69% of the women in the study noticed an improvement in the condition of their thighs after wearing the denim for the 6 week time span. Just so you know what you'll have to do to notice an effect.

As an important aside, two things about cellulite: everyone has it (men and women, skinny or fat, people with athletic or more sedentary lifestyles), it isn't gross and you don't have to feel like you should get rid of it. Second point: a broad spectrum of clinical studies have been conducted with regards to the causes and cures for cellulite. No cure has been scientifically confirmed. Just so you know I don't think you should "fight the flab", and that there are no "miracle cures". Your body is your own, and its shape is only inherently problematic if you feel like it is.

Without using the reload spray, the effect of your Denim Spa will last about 15 wears. Obviously, since I'm a style blogger and have to change things up, I can't exactly wear these 6 weeks straight. But I will say this: the Smooth Legs pair smells great and has a lovely, classy, dark look to them - the sort of denim you could wear to the office and look very smart in. Also, they are quite comfortable thanks to the 3% elastan. For me, the don't fit tight enough along the lower part of my leg to become an ultimate favorite, but they do have a lovely shape to them that will work for a lot of different tastes and styles.

Like what you're hearing/seeing? You can order yours online at ASOS: Smooth Legs, Olive Extract or Aloe Vera (my fave, love the light wash!). So, are you interested or do you have your doubts? What pair would you like to try out?

Finally a proper look at my Kipling City Bag that I love so much. And how about that Shin Chan keychain? HEY HEY SHIN CHAN

Second point I'd like to make in this post: I really, really love beanies.

Third point: this coatigan is the warmest EVER. It was just about to start snowing when these pictures were taken and I'm only wearing a t-shirt underneath. I was only slightly freezing my ass off.

Fourth point: we met up with our familiar cemetery-dwelling cat Roland when we dropped by the church to shoot outfitpictures. He was sweet and cuddly as ever!

Fifth point: I sort of really kind of totally miss my long hair. I mean, it's not truly the length that I miss, but I've never loved myself with super layered hair. I prefer myself with fewer layers around the face I guess, even though I can objectively say that this is a great haircut that looks good on me. OH WELL IT'LL GROW. Next time, no layers.

Excuse me looking like a surly teenager today. There's something about beanies, platforms and band shirts that make my face go :-| like I'm one eyeroll away from yelling UGH DAD YOU'RE SO EMBARRASSING. But, you know, slightly cooler than that. I wore this on a lazy Sunday filled with boyfriend snuggles on the couch, watching Animal Geographic and eating leftovers: BLISS.

The shining star of this look? My GORGEOUS leather duffel bag, a present from Titi, one of the lovely ladies behind Amsterdam based leather bag shop GM Z. The leather is buttery soft, the hardware is shiny and the strap is adjustable: a perfect bag, can't believe how lucky I am! I love how the sleek shape and high quality material are very sophisticated and grown up, while the duffel bag style gives off a sporty casual vibe. Might just be the perfect purse to go with my everyday style.

And I'm not saying all of this because they gave me a free purse. I am responsible for a webstore at one of my two jobs and I can absolutely vouch for the fact that it is HARD to design a great webshop and get good photo material etcetera, so my words of praise are 100% earnest.

I'm leaving you with a pic of my awesome hair. Just because I keep wearing beanies and I want to be able to scroll back in my blog and check out my hair, yo!